Pages

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The second set of scrumptious edibles comprises ravishing desserts and snacks.
For the next batch of concessionaires, let me start with Gourmet Keso which employs Gawad Kalinga residents to produce artisanal cheese and dairy products such as Carabao's Fresh Milk, Kesong Puti, Ricotta cheese, Feta in EVOO and the Chevre or goat cheese - two variants of which, they offered at the Ultimate Taste Test. If this is indeed a test, then I say they passed with flying colors. The first is Chevre with Garlic and Herbs. Goat cheese smeared on top of a cracker, tinctured with fresh green herbs, had a tang that whets the appetite. The Chevre with Cashews and Truffled Salt had a rich, bodacious flavor and I reckon I could only eat a few bites in one sitting.

De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop is no market novelty. With pockets of beef or chicken varying in degrees of hotness, from the mild original variant to the spicy pinatubo ones, this pattie shop has continuously sated thousands of people with their fare for over two decades.

A colorful display of French Macarons proudly sits atop Empire's booth. Rows of chromatic circular sweets attempt not only to ensnare one's gaze but to evoke voracious sensations as well. I refrained myself from pouncing on those canary-colored lemon macarons, and instead opted to try the intriguingly named Candied Rose. A soft crunch precedes a gentle chewy bite, then a unique flavor emits that captivates both the sense of taste and smell. If I were to eat its floral namesake, this would be how it is. The saccharine taste is strengthened by the aroma of freshly grounded rose petals. And just like that, it's gone.

Just simply looking at the cupcakes baked by Anita, conjures up fanciful scenarios of cupcake wonderland, where everything is sweet and dulcet tones play in the background. As I scrutinize a piece, it is resonant of a muffin more than a cupcake because of its density. I first bit into the Bacon and Maple, but the savory meat was imperceptible. The texture is there but the flavor was lost in the midst of maple and butter. The other was the Roasted Strawberry, where the pink frosting was coiled at the crest. Popping the whole thing into my mouth invited an amicable sourness that cocooned the whole cake, little however it may be. Albeit a bit dry, these tiny cupcakes are provocative enough, worthy of a second bite.

I love mochi. My toppings of choice for yogurt would be the strawberry, ube or pandan mochi. And so the concept of mochi and ice cream is a welcome treat. Mochiko's mochi ice cream, solely and in all its rock-cold glory (you have to wait for a couple of minutes and let the ice cream melt a bit to enjoy its full flavor), is as good as frozen desserts can get. However - and this is just me - I don't have a penchant for cookies or cookie dough for that matter; ergo the indifference. I would love to taste the other flavors though, those I'm sure I will appreciate.

Silvanas are cookie versions of the cake, Sans Rival. Usually frozen, these discs are made up of butter cream flanked by two thin layers of meringue and enshrouded in cookie crumbs. Perhaps the most endearing moment is when you bite past the crunch and into the buttery portion of this delicacy. The creamy goodness is comforting as it cradles and pleases; one piece is never enough.

Aside from silvanas or sylvannas as they call it, Sugar House put numerous Yema Balls up for grabs (in exchange for a stamped passport of course).

I've also encountered The Sweet Life by Ange before, together with Empire, at one of Rockwell's Baker's Dozen food fairs. This time, they offer Camchips or cassava chips, Sweet Surrender which was brazo with ice cream and the Red Velvet Cheesecake. Crispy with a vestige of sweet and salty crystals were the camchips. How the ice cream curbed the sweetness of the brazo was a nice touch. And the red velvet had that moist texture that characterizes a good piece of cake.

My Pink Wasabi is one of the reasons I was excited at the prospect of attending the Ultimate Taste Test. I've heard many good things about these little dessert rolls that I was practically salivating up until I was in front of their booth. I was a bit disappointed that on top of having to choose just one flavor, the portion was just a fraction of the kashi makis' usual size. That left a lot to the imagination, one thing I was not in the mood for since I was craving for those confections ever since I bought my UTT ticket a couple of weeks back. Pitiably, I reached out for the Midnight Mint. Dark chocolate powder dusted the roll's circumference and a hint of mint truffle was like an elusive shadow to the chocolate cake. Tiny, green tapioca balls of mint gelee roosted at the middle lent a contrasting color that was visually appealing. I have a proclivity for chocolate and mint; needless to say, I wanted more. I looked longingly at the other flavors of kashi maki, inviting and teasing. Regrettably, I left the booth, but not before taking a last look at the Japanese inspired desserts. Soon, I will appease my appetence. I only hope you'll have a booth at Soderno @ Molito.

The flavored taho of Mang Pedro came as a pleasant peripety. I was accustomed to flavored ones being cold and not warm or tepid. The almond and ube were the best sellers, as told by the two friendly staff manning the booth. I went for the latter, and I appreciated the ube undertone; not overwhelming, but definitely there. I finally found myself scraping the bottom of the yellow plastic cup for any remnant of the purple yam flavored soy.